Great birding destinations and birdwatching locations
Hawaii
5 Reasons to Get Business Travel Insurance
Learn about great birding trips to suit your needs. Perhaps you want to see the harpy eagle in Panama, or the gorgeous Rosita's bunting in Mexico. Birding tours are organized by a surprising diversity of organizations: in addition to the well-known guided birdwatching trips by groups like Wings and VENT, there are trips with exciting itineraries given by Naturetrek, the Sierra Club, and even Elderhostel. Add to your life bird list by choosing a wonderful birding tour here.
Caligo Ventures has lots of exciting birding tours coming up in 2009. We like the fact that Caligo makes a point of using local naturalist guides in the host country. In March, they are offering a birdwatching trip to the Panama Canal Area and the Western Highlands. The trip offers chances to see the Resplendent Quetzal and the Scintillant Hummingbird, among scores of other species. It should be quite an experience to stay in the Canopy Tower Lodge, where birders often see the Green Shrike-vireo and the stunning Blue Cotinga.
Whether it is a brief visit to another part of the country or a week long trip abroad, business trips to visit critical clients and other important companies are a vital part of keeping any business running successfully; and for every trip, you'll need some kind of business travel insurance. If you only have to travel every once in a while, single trip cover may be sufficient, but if you travel many times each year you'll want to invest in some annual business travel insurance. Either way, there's no excuse to scrimp: here are five situations when the small cost of insurance could save you a lot of hassle?
The other company cancels the meeting at the last minute?
An ordinary holiday can be cancelled for all kinds of reasons, but for a business trip there are even more factors that can lead to a meeting being cancelled or rescheduled, leaving you or your company to foot a significant cancellation bill. Business travel insurance will cover cancellation as standard, so even if things change at the last minute, your costs will be covered.
You fall on or before the trip?
If you fall ill on or just before a crucial business trip and there is no-one to replace you, the consequences for your company could be catastrophic. Most good business travel insurance packages will cover the cost of replacing you with a work colleague (including their flights and accommodation) so that the trip can be concluded successfully in your absence.
Some vital equipment is lost or stolen?
Whether it is a PDA filled with important information on it or an expensive laptop with a crucial presentation, most business trips can revolve around a vital piece of equipment - if it is lost or stolen, it can hurt your wallet and ruin the business trip. Annual business travel insurance will provide you with year round cover for business equipment that is lost or stolen while you are away (and in most cases, they will pay for a courier delivery of the new item.) Of course, the data may be irreplaceable, so make sure that you back up any critical information on a USB stick.
Business travel is excluded from your existing insurance?
Many people assume that they have cover for business in the annual travel insurance they already have, but this often isn't the case. Many travel insurance policies are for holidays only and have exclusions for business travel. Read the small print carefully, and make sure you get full travel insurance for business trips if you aren't covered.
You need to be hospitalised after an accident?
Whether it is just a cracked rib or something much more serious, medical care abroad while you are uninsured is no laughing matter. With so many business trips to America (which can have medical costs running into thousands of pounds) it really pays to have some decent business travel insurance. As outlined above, many standard travel insurance policies exclude business trips, so make sure you get the right kind of cover and avoid the threat of massive medical costs.
Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of Journey's Travel. Their commercial travel insurance website, Insuremore, offers cheap annual business travel insurance and offer a quick and easy online claims feature.
In th spring, fieldguides.com will be doing a comprehensive Yucatan and Cozumel tour in Mexico. Participants on this birding trip look forward to seeing the black-throated Bobwhite, the Yucatan Wren, and other species. Some of the observing is done in the national parks that surround famous Mayan ruins. Birdwatching trips can be focused on just a few species, or, a tour may include the chance to see a great number of endemics and migrant birds over several varying habitats and even include birding in multiple countries.